Golden Afternoon
by v1dya
Summary: J'onn J'onzz awakens after a battle with an eldritch abomination to find himself in a unfamiliar setting.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither the DC universe nor the Worm universe; these belong to DC and Wildbow respectively. **

The more he took stock of the situation, the more J'onn felt horrified.

The Justice League had naturally been alarmed by the appearance of a tear in space-time, and the presence of what had appeared to be an eldritch abomination curled around a set of alternate earths had spurred immediate action. He had attempted to read the thing's mind…

Well, he couldn't really remember what happened immediately after that. He had awoke an indeterminate amount of time later to find himself stripped of his powers and gripped by cascading, chaotic visions. At first, the sheer terror of it had paralyzed him, but after a while he had calmed down enough to notice patterns in what he saw.

He began to recognize a few of the people in the visions. A disheveled man who rambled, his words suddenly and unpredictably shifting in clarity. Two men and one woman, a set of three heroes, who often hovered in the periphery of his field of vision battling huge monsters. They weren't the only people fighting, but they certainly seemed to show up consistently over the numerous conflicts over the years. Years – Somehow, he knew the intervals between the events, though he couldn't put dates to them.

_These are memories._ That was why he could put a name to the scruffy looking man who he could only half understand. Or how he felt a reflexive dislike of some of the heroes he saw in the visions, in spite of having never met them.

He had acquired enough control now to open his eyes, and to his shock, J'onn found he was underwater. It was a bit longer before he was able to find the ability to rise towards the surface. Though he no longer had telepathy, or, as far as he could see, the ability to density-shift, he seemed to have acquired a new set of powers, one of which bore him easily to the surface.

He looked down at his body, and was struck again by surprise. He saw what appeared to be the body of an ordinary human cast in gold, and also apparently impervious to water. He flexed his fingers, testing whether they really belonged to him. Even as he did so, a host of new visions poured forth. Some were of events, but many seemed to contradict each other. _Delusions? Or… possible futures?_ Somehow he knew this answer was correct. Other visions were more like unbidden ideas, hinting at other, stranger powers that this body might possess.

None of these powers, nor the fact that he'd regained control of his self, had done much to cheer him up. It wasn't so much that he had no idea whether he could get home, or whether the rest of the League was all right. Rather it was that, judging by the memories he had seen, the golden man whose body he now inhabited, and which had once been an avatar, of sorts, of the being they'd attacked, was known to this world as a hero, perhaps its greatest hero.

He used his power to rise into space. It was a slow process, relative to what, say, Superman could have accomplished. But J'onn had no desire to test the body's limits. He surveyed the earth.

There was no sign of the League.

_If they all sacrificed their lives, and I my body, to destroy something which was, in the end, a hero…_ The thought was appalling. It was the same disease many of his people suffered with respect to the white Martians, and it just might have cost them everything. Two worlds, robbed of their best heroes, over something so_ foolish_.

Well, the Leaguers who attacked the creature – _Zion_\- the name came unbidden, as his consciousness integrated further with his new body – might still be alive. Even the real Zion might still be alive, though it – perhaps, he- had, at the bare minimum, abandoned the form he took when serving mankind.

And whatever else he was, it was clear that this Zion was a hero among heroes. A more thorough inspection of his memories showed countless good deeds – kittens rescued, monsters stopped, wars interrupted.

J'onn briefly wondered if his new powers might include the ability to traverse the multiverse. But he dismissed this thought out of a sense of obligation. After all, he was at least partially responsible for depriving this world of a great champion. The least he could do was try to fill the latter's shoes.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N : Thanks for all the favorites, likes, and reviews. It's pretty encouraging. **

* * *

It had seemed like it would be easy enough, at first.

Though he'd still only begun to get a handle on his new body's powers, the few he'd gotten the hang of were rather impressive. Flight, invulnerability, a beam which literally imposed order on its target... He suspected the latter had far more potential than he'd seen in his inherited memories. But with the ability to fix potential mistakes in hand, he went off to resume his predecessor's job.

He touched down, drawn to a spot in continental Europe. The vague visions of alternate futures no longer served as a hindrance, but as a guide. He already had his day planned out: starting from this spot, he would save a cat stuck in a tree. There was a civil disturbance about 20 miles south and 40 minutes after that. Proceeding along that future, he could see a number of problems he could tackle. Riots, out of control supervillains... This world was a fairly grim place, he was starting to see, and that was _with_ the previous Zion working around the clock.

He shunted visions of times yet to come to the periphery of his vision as he drew up to the trapped feline. Glowing light around his hands prevented him from mishandling it as he lowered it to the ground. It was necessary, after all, since his control over his body was far from perfect. Though the previous user had maintained its appearance perfectly, much of it had never been used. Certain muscles seemed completely unaccustomed to activity, and he had a general lack of motor skill. In fact, his hands seemed to tremble as he carefully presented the pet to its owner. Perhaps the first Zion had used its various powers to move its humanesque avatar, he thought, for he noticed that much of his body was trembling.

He wasn't the only one.

The girl he'd presented the cat to had been, like all the others he'd seen as he approached, awed upon his arrival. But her expression grew concerned as she watched him. As he flew away, zigigng and zagging as he tried to master the golden man's flight power, one of his visions of the future showed downright fear and alarm on the part of the townsfolk. Many were talking, texting, or posting things in the aftermath of his arrival.

_I did something wrong._ he thought. _But what?_

His second intervention ended on a similar note. The brawl had broken up immediately, but the mood of the crowd had gotten more negative as he departed. He didn't see them starting to fight again, in his visions. But there was a sense of urgency, of doom, almost, possessing everyone who'd been present. Many of them, too, had taken to spreading word of something far and wide.

In the southern tip of Italy, he descended yet again, just in time to see three costumed individuals rushing out of a bank. He found his attention drawn to them somehow, as if he could sense their powers even without his visions of their past and future. It was the latter which identified them as bank robbers.

In no easily accessible future, though, did any of them mount any considerable resistance. One, some sort of speedster, made a dash, but seemed to slow down even before J'onn's golden beam caught him, no doubt realizing the futility of his actions.

The authorities arrived to take his quarry, looking at him with a mixture of amazement and, as they looked at him longer, concern. It might be, J'onn realized, that his lack of motor control was making his act less convincing than he'd hoped. He wasn't good at reading humans - not without telepathy, anyway. He floated over to one, who looked like he might be in charge, to ask a question.

Unfortunately for his act, it seemed that his body's vocal cords had been neglected as well. At first, when he opened his mouth, no sound sound came out. Well, out of him, anyway. There was a collective gasp on the part of the crowd.

The second time, J'onn managed a wheezing sound. Seeing that he'd only worsened the problem, he flew off, in the direction of Africa. The remainder of the day he spent subduing supervillians, mostly. The continent was rife with them, it seemed, and much of it lacked even basic facilities to hold them. He was forced to save as many civilians as he could from their clutches, and fly on. He did this in silence, which, as he now realized through a more careful inspection of Zion's memories, was what the locals were accustomed to. As before, he found himself strangely drawn to the supervillans, and often to random civilians as well. He was beginning to suspect he had some method of power-detection.

As the sun set, he found his way to an abandoned township in South Africa. He was starting to get in the habit of using his powers to avoid unnecessary encounters, as it seemed his predecessor had often done. He noticed that some electronics were still functioning. Mindful of his power's effects, he struggled a while until he managed to turn on a damaged television set by hand.

_"- another possibility." said a well-dressed woman, whose title was displayed on the screen. _

'Parahuman' J'onn thought, must be their term for those with superpowers. And with the state of this world, its no wonder they'd need specialized health experts.

_"__It would explain the reported spasms-"_

_The camera shifted to a 'Professor of Parahuman Studies' as he began to speak._

_"It's not even clear that Scion has muscles which could atrophy," the older man interjected. "There are many examples of... unusual capes, with seemingly impossible biologies. For instance, the leader of the Brockton Bay Wards is _principally _composed, as far as we can tell, of metal. It is possible, probable, even -" _

_"I'm going to have to cut you off there, professor," interrupted an anchorwoman. "In a bit of breaking news, eyewitnesses are reporting that Scion briefly subdued Moord Nag in Namibia, rescuing a large number of prisoners who claim they were held by the warlord as sacrifices of some sort. International peacekeepers, however, found no trace of her upon arriving at the ruins of her fortress, prompting speculation that she may be in hiding, waiting for the hero to depart from Africa. More disturbing, however, are corroboration by the rescued of earlier accounts of Scion from today. All agree that the hero appeared to be shaking almost convulsively, flying irregularly, and in general displaying considerably slower reflexes than in the past, according to expert analyses. Is age finally catching up with our golden man? We turn now to -"_

With clarity dawning, J'onn flipped through the channels, to observe the scale of his errors in a variety of languages which he was now mysteriously able to understand. All were of the same vein. Apparently, as far as the natives were concerned, Zion (or perhaps Scion, as they seemed to refer to him) falling ill was an event of significance comparing to nuclear war, or an alien invasion.

_There are too many pitfalls. I need someone to assist me._

Even as he had the thought, a plan materialized in his mind, seemingly out of nowhere.

_Travel north, to the British Isles. Find Kevin Norton._

He could put a face to that name, and already saw a kind of outline of the meeting: a rainy day, a man, poorly dressed. Two others, whose details eluded him. His power told him they wouldn't make matters worse.

He took flight once again.


	3. Chapter 3

The woman did _not _draw J'onn's attention, as various other superpowered individuals had over the course of the almost-over day. However, given that she was 15 feet tall, feathered, and floating in the sky, he assumed that she must have powers of some kind. _From a different source, then._

Perhaps she was another alien? Her overall body type was very human, but then, so were Kryptonians and Thanagarians.

An inherited memory bubbled forth. His predecessor, other heroes, all fighting in a burning city. Fighting... this woman.

_So she's a villain of some sort. If all the devastation in that vision was her doing, then her power must be considerable._

On the other hand, she did seem to be asleep. He might be able to take her...

On the _other _other hand, attacking a slumbering opponent wasn't particularly noble. He decided to hold off on facing her, at least until he had a clearer idea of her crimes.

J'onn flew onward.

* * *

The pieces of the path laid out for him came together as he descended. The storm clouds masked his glow from the wider populace, allowing him to zero in on his target. His flight power dissipated almost completely, allowing him to make the last of the fall without drawing unwanted attention. Even with this, a glow continued to emanate from his body, as he surveyed the beings in front of him.

One man, middle aged, disheveled, and more relaxed than anyone he'd approached in this world, save the floating woman.

One woman, younger, well-dressed, in a more familiar state of shock and awe.

Lastly, there was one dog, standing perfectly still, ears flat against its head.

Even the man, _Kevin Norton, _J'onn reminded himself, seemed to become less at ease as he looked at what he thought was Zion. Too late, his power told him the reason: in all their previous encounters, Zion had been utterly still. Minor, instinctive movements on J'onn's part were shattering the illusion.

"Something's not right," Norton muttered to his companions. "He seems off, somehow."

"It's been all over the internet," said the woman, faintly. "They're saying he's fallen ill, or that he's dying..."

Norton seemed jolted by her words. He turned to J'onn. "Hello, old friend," he began cautiously.

J'onn mustered all of his efforts. He'd practiced as he traveled, working his body's atrophying vocal cords.

"Hello," he managed. It was quiet, not quite raspy, but still much more poorly vocalized than he would have liked. Still, he had managed his first word in this body.

The two humans reacted strongly to his reply. The dog, oddly enough, seemed to relax a bit.

The ensuing conversation was still rather one-sided, with Norton first explaining his history with Zion, which, unbeknownst to him, was nearly as enlightening to J'onn as it was to Lisette.

"So they... know me as.. Scion, not... Zion?" Admittedly, as he asked the question, J'onn could see how they'd made the mistake.

"That's right," answered Norton. "It's up to you, of course, whether you'd like to correct them, now that you've become more conversational..." He paused, perhaps hoping for an explanation.

"It.. happened recently... I know... Earlier... I just found myself... in this state..." It was basically the truth.

"So you're more aware now, I see, but you've been getting sicker too?"

J'onn didn't exactly nod, but a spasm accompanied his attempted gesture, giving the appearance of an affirmative response.

"That's some coincidence," began Norton slowly. "You see, I was hoping to see you here soon. I needed to set my affairs in order. Somehow, I got hepatitis. Don't have long left, and there's something I need to say. Those endbringer motherfuckers... You know the thing's I'm talking about, right?"

J'onn hadn't the slightest idea, so he kept silent.

"Think hard, Zion. Giant monsters that destroy cities? The things you've been fighting for years?" He seemed to become more agitated as he spoke.

J'onn did as Norton asked, and found that he had some relevant memories. One giant monster which burrowed into the earth, another which fled into the ocean. And possibly... He managed a short description of the two, as well as the strange woman he'd seen earlier.

"That's them. Behemoth, Leviathan, and the Simurgh." Norton seemed to pause, growing increasingly afraid. As he hesitated, J'onn asked the question he'd pondered earlier.

"Should I... kill them?"

The moment J'onn spoke, Norton looked like he'd been hit by a train. He sank to the ground slowly, trembling. "I knew it," he mumbled numbly. "It's my fault... all my fault."

Lisette spoke up. "_Yes_, you should kill them, Zion," she said with astonishment. "Do you mean, that, before, you weren't fighting to -" at that moment, Norton collapsed. Lisette rushed to help him, and J'onn hovered closer. A power of his told him Norton wasn't yet dying, but was unable to stand up due to stress.

Norton managed an utterance. "Find Lisette here, if you need someone to talk to," He whispered to J'onn. "She'll do much better..." he trailed off.

Duke the dog began to nuzzle Norton worriedly.

Lisette looked back and forth from Norton to J'onn, apparently unsure which of their statements was more alarming. But she managed to speak.

"Zion, can you find them? The monsters? Do you know where they are? Behemoth or Leviathan in particular?"

J'onn suspected that he could. A new power surfaced, but it only revealed two creatures: the mysterious woman, and...

"I see... something strange..." J'onn began. "The Simurgh.. sleeps in the sky... And something else..." His vision showed an aberration of a creature. Not quite as large as Leviathan or Behemoth in his memories... But it seemed to be fighting a host of heroes, including some of those he recognized from what he now knew as Endbringer fights. He described the scene haltingly to Lisette. She became horrified as she listened.

"Zion, if there's a new Endbringer that's emerged, you have to stop it. Well, you should stop all of them, for good, but if one is attacking right now, you've got to go. Don't worry about us, just go!"

J'onn waited just a moment before flying off; he implemented a quick method his power suggested to treat Norton's disease. He then shot off in a golden burst, heading to a city on the east coast of the United States.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for reading and/or giving feedback, everyone.**

**Deadpan - You're quite right, it could have been anyone insofar as achieving the basic premise of the story goes. I picked him out of the various choices for a variety of minor reasons: I didn't want an OC for this, I liked some of the worm-DC crossover fics that are out there (I might try a proper one after I'm done with this), and J'onn, I figure, would be used to being in other people's minds. At the same time, he's somewhat unfamiliar with humanity in general, and is coming from a rather more upbeat earth, which makes his being in this situation less of a cakewalk than it would be otherwise.**

**AlltheAces - You may be on to something there. Though as you'll see from this chapter, the endbringers aren't the only opportunity he has for things to head south quickly... **

* * *

As J'onn approached the chaotic scene, three individuals flew up to meet him. They were of varying height, somewhat more so than typical for humans, and dressed similarly, in flowing dark robes.

_They look familiar, but-_

His precognition almost blared in his psyche, warning a fight was imminent.

_Of course it is, that monster below's giving the other heroes quite a bit of trouble... Oh._

To his astonishment, he wasn't able to react in time. The oncomers unleashed three different ranged attacks, one serving to paralyze him and the others exploded with extraordinary force, sending him sprawling.

He opened his mouth, raised his hands, in a bid to reason with them.

Before J'onn could get a word out, the attackers launched a second barrage, with each unfamiliar blast sending him higher into the atmosphere. If this continued, they'd launch him into space.

He launched three bolts of golden light in retaliation. They homed in on each of the aggressors, but unprecedentedly, each of his targets dodged or parried his attack. In doing so, however, they'd been forced to pause their own onslaught. J'onn managed a second strike: a golden sphere of light, expanding away from him, catching everything else in its radius. Briefly, the cowled fliers were subdued.

The past few moments really did feel as though he'd woken from a dream, for a number of the powers he'd come to rely on seemed to be subverted by his new foes. His future sight and uncanny 'intuition' weren't quite abolished, but it was almost as if the attackers had suppressed them somehow. He took the opportunity to ask why they were attacking him.

_To serve their master? Who is... _

Of course the giant monster was their master. But how could that possibly-

His powers didn't answer that question directly. Instead, they directed his attention to the creature below. Looking at it, from afar, he felt a mixture of horror and disgust which intensified considerably when one of its large orifices - _a mouth?_\- vomited out a slurry of bile and, improbably, what appeared to be a middle-aged human male. His proportions might have been unusual; J'onn couldn't tell. He could, however, sense that the man in the vomit had powers, which the latter demonstrated by conjuring a cowled costume.

_The monster is the source, then-_

His next question was preempted by the recovery of the three cloaked fliers. Their improbably variable attacks were geared towards putting as much distance between him and their master, he realized. _They must know they can't win in a direct fight._

J'onn wasn't actually so certain of that last assumption. He was holding his own against the caped attackers now, though they'd managed to catapult him into a cloud when the fourth one joined in. They were diluting his powers, but he was getting the hang of launching golden blasts manually, successfully suppressing their improbably varied attacks. They moved quickly and evasively, however, and every so often, they got a hit in.

_They can actually deal damage._ It was more than could be said about anyone else he'd run into in this world. Worse, they somehow made his own powers costlier. He was experiencing something like fatigue, as well as the suspicion that the odds of the battle ending well were lowering as time passed.

He allowed himself to be hit by one of the vomit-people. As he was launched upwards, all four lunged in pursuit. J'onn unleashed his golden explosion again, rendering them immobile. He wasted no time diving to the battle below.

* * *

The heroes on the ground were in a full-scale brawl, fighting others who seemed to be partisans of the monster. They all drew attention from J'onn's ability to sense powers, but more interestingly, there seemed to be two 'flavors' of heroes... one which seemed to have something in common with the beast's.

_Disturbing. But I'll process that once I've stopped its cloning. _He hadn't even phrased it as a question, but he came up a quick solution. He bombarded the creature with beams of golden light, searing away its flesh faster than it could regenerate. The light only hurt the monster, fortifying anyone else who happened to be struck by it. Its mouths bellowed in agony, a reverberating, horrible noise.

Mixed in with this was the scream of a human female. His attention was briefly drawn to the upper half of a woman fixed upon the repulsive mountain of flesh. J'onn realized she was, in the end, a human with powers from the common source.

Unexpectedly, a beam carried a woman in a costume out of the monster's body. She was the first of many to be rescued, including one that seemed to be the template for the cloaked villains.

_My power knew that would happen. How -_

He felt his mental powers flicker again, and was ready for his attackers, this time. He flew obliquely, and, at the second he found himself equidistant to the four, unleashed a half sphere explosion, aiming to catch all of his descending enemies.

They'd wised up too, it seemed. The copies broke their formation and spread out, charging at the heroes' battle lines. There were collective gasps of horror; they seemed to know what the clones were capable of.

_Can I still resolve this, without killing any of them?_

His power gave him the answer.

* * *

**So, first chapter with actual action in it... This is the first time I've written a fight, actually, and I'm not sure how it came out. Constructive criticism would be appreciated. **

**I was originally going to have this whole fight be from J'onn's perspective, but I think instead we'll see the rest in an interlude, instead. See ya next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, as I look back on it, I'm not sure if having this chapter from Skitter's perspective in particular achieved anything, but having it from an actual cape instead of a guest at least meant that I could use proper names for everyone. Still considering whether the next chapter will be from J'onn's perspective or not; the revelations for both sides might be interesting. **

Echidna charged at Skitter, causing the ground to shake. In her fury, the monster didn't notice the thread affected by Clockblocker's power until it had begun to cut her.

The formation of capes which had largely succeeded in containing Echidna nearly broke when the four Psycho-Eidolons rushed them from all sides. Three, however, veered off abruptly, managing to dodge a multi-pronged blast of light from Scion. Eidolon engaged his remaining clone while the other three fled from Scion, obviously trying to keep the golden hero busy, to give Echidna a chance to recover the situation.

There was cautious optimism throughout the crowd, as far as Skitter could tell, at least. They were still reeling from the damage the first Eidolon clone had wrought, but the sheer hopelessness that had gripped them when Noelle had spat out three more copies was gone.

Echidna had already regenerated most of her body mass, but all the heroes within her had been freed, and all the clones Skitter was aware of were dead, save the Eidolons. Echidna's lower mouths bellowed impotent rage as she was held back by ranged attacks. Even if she managed to break through again, Skitter had a set of threads in place, with Clockblocker at the ready. She noticed Tattletale arriving nearby, with a number of others, including the Travelers. A heated conversation took place, with Tattletale pausing only briefly at the sight of a bright, golden burst from some distance away.

"Well," began Tattletale, "We've got Sundancer on board to take out Echidna." The Traveler didn't seem very enthusiastic about this. "We're gonna wait for the local airspace to clear up, though."

The only Eidolon-clone nearby was still dueling his counterpart; with Echidna essentially contained, the other members of the Triumvirate and a few more heroes were assisting, most from a safe distance.

An explosion put an end to the clone and pushed Eidolon and Alexandria back, as well. The two collected themselves on the ground. Skitter noticed that just about everyone else was giving the pair a wide berth, even Legend.

"It's over," declared Tattletale. Another flash of golden light, closer this time, reinforced this point. "Sundancer?"

Sundancer stopped her advance, frozen in her tracks. A pulse of golden light washed over the crowd, briefly illuminating a cloaked figure within it. The latter rapidly disintegrated.

Scion hovered over the crowd, his gaze fixated upon Echidna. With gesture from him, a beam of golden light sprang forth, skewering Noelle. She writhed and thrashed, though if she was screaming, there was no sound of it. Scion's light muted everything within a certain radius, while preventing collateral damage as well. Seconds passed, turning into minutes, as nothing of note was happening as far as Skitter could tell, except perhaps, that Echidna's lower body seemed to shrink, ever so slightly.

For a moment, there was a collective release of tension as Echidna's attempts to escape proved futile. This did not last.

Skitter approached Tattletale, who was watching an argument involving Alexandria and the Travelers.

"Even if Tattletale had the authority to offer you such a deal, you didn't fulfill the terms," grated Alexandria, as a crowd began to form around them. "You'll remain in PRT custody, and held to account for your crimes."

Sundancer collapsed, stricken, while Genesis and Ballistic exploded with rage. The burgeoning spectacle was interrupted, by a cold, hard voice.

"I don't think you're in any position to talk about dispensing justice," declared Chevalier to Alexandria, as the crowd nearby murmured agreement. "If half of what your partner said is true, it's you who should be joining Trickster in the Birdcage."

Alexandria's arguments in response seemed to sway some of the crowd, though they didn't impress Skitter. Although some of the heroes remained unconvinced, it seemed like the PRT boss was going to get her way. _Predictable._

Clockblocker appeared to share some her dismay. He caught her looking at him and laughed, hollowly.

"Earlier, what you were trying to say that there wasn't much of a difference between heroes and villains," he said in a low voice. "It doesn't sound so crazy now."

"It does to me," Skitter replied. "I don't think anything I've done ranks up with creating the Slaughterhouse Nine, or human experimentation." Clockblocker winced, and Skitter, to her surprise, felt a tinge of regret.

_It may be harsh, but it's the truth._ If the PRT could come to accept the corruption at their core, maybe they could reform after all, and mount a better response against the endbringers, or at least stop creating serial killers. It didn't seem likely even as she thought of it, though, especially if Alexandria managed to conceal all of this from the public.

"Everything we did was for the greater good," Alexandria insisted. She turned toward Lisa. "Tattletale, you should be able to tell if I'm lying."

Tattletale's brow furrowed at Alexandria's statement. "She's telling the truth..." began Lisa, "But she's hiding something." The PRT director might have reacted slightly, nearly imperceptibly, to Tattletale's second assertion.

"Disclosing the particulars of certain operations would likewise cause more harm than good. As such-"

"That's not it," interrupted Tattletale. Alexandria tried to continue, but was shouted down. After the strange spectacle of seeing the likes of Weld, Chevalier, and Miss Militia supporting Tattletale, Skitter listened to her friend continue. "You definitely _believed _that what you were doing was necessary... But very recently, you found reason to believe that might not be the case." She put her hand to her head, apparently trying to make sense of what her power was telling her. Skitter suspected that Alexandria would have liked to snap Tattletale's neck as she said that. Fortunately, by Skitter's estimation, even taking Eidolon into account, it was unclear that the triumvirate could actually defeat everyone against them. Tattletale's latest pronouncement, and Alexandria's reaction to it, seemed to have inflamed the crowd.

The insults and protests continued for a fraction of a second after the light in the area abruptly dropped. Nothing had blotted out the sky; but the strengthening of a faint glow heralded the approach of Scion.

The golden hero's expression did not seem artificial at ll as he approached; in fact, though his physical form was the same, the way he carried himself made him seem like a completely different person compared to when she'd encountered him for the first time. Suspended in front of him, floating almost as if she were carried in his hands, was a nude woman who bore a striking resemblance to Noelle's human section. Scion hovered towards the Travelers, seemingly oblivious to the others present. He deposited what appeared to a be a living, sleeping Noelle in front of them.

Tattletale, apparently in realization, managed to draw back some of the crowd's attention.

"It's Scion! It's something related to him, that threw a wrench in your plans," Tattletale exclaimed. This time, Alexandria's reaction was strong enough to be noticeable; the bugs Taylor had managed to sneak onto her detected changes associated with an increase in nervousness. Eidolon flinched outright at this revelation.

"I don't think we need to hear any more about their motives," growled a cape Taylor didn't recognize. "The Slaughterhouse Nine, case 53s, and now this endbringer? What we should be debating is whether this deserves the birdcage or a kill order." Before anyone could act on this suggestion, however, a low, measured voice brought about total silence.

"N..No," spoke Scion.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Looks like things are starting to wind down. I will probably do some epilogues, or put them together as a conclusion. **

* * *

Even in his condition, J'onn could sense the tension in the room. In a first since he'd come to this world, it seemed to have less to do with him. In fact, after the initial amazement at the fact that he'd spoken , they'd meekly followed his advice to move the affair off of the streets, restraining the prisoners -_minions of the monster girl - Echidna - as they called her_, while he flew about, restoring the damage to the city with minimal effort. Huge portions were devoid of basic utilities, it seemed. The city didn't look like one that could be found in his universe's US. With a bit more effort, he was able to restore these as well. When the place had looked reasonably clean, he rejoined the heroes, who were locked in a discussion. J'onn was able to follow most of it, but the gist of it was beginning to become concerning.

"Excuse me," he began. People had been eyeing him since he'd rejoined the group, and silence had already partially descended after he'd opened his mouth. "This Birdcage you are discussing, it's... life imprisonment? Without the possibility of parole?"

One of the heroes, a man wearing armor, was the first to respond. "Yes, that's right." _What's his name? his power could get that information, as well. Chevalier. _

He addressed himself to the armored hero, who seemed less intimidated than the rest. "So it's a perpetual sentence... unless they are exonerated, I trust?"

Chevalier shifted uncomfortably. J'onn knew the horrifying answer before the man gave it. The Birdcage was an eternal punishment. Once you were in, you were there till you died. It was a prison built to be inescapable.

J'onn realized that, though he had kept his face solemn, his revulsion was somehow broadcast by his power. Many of the heroes present winced.

"It's a matter... for another time," he spoke. "But I think that is... an overly harsh punishment. The girl was not... fully in control... of her actions."

"We can't let her run loose," put forward another hero, who is power identified as one 'Legend.' "She's a class S threat."

His power interpreted the phrase for him. "No... she was... a significant threat. Now... she is an ordinary... human."

There were some gasps at this statement. There seemed to be a bit of hostility directed at Legend and his two companions, 'Alexandria' and 'Eidolon.' The two seemed to be trying to will Legend to stop, but weren't, apparently, willing to actively ask him to.

Chevalier spoke up. "Noelle I can understand, and the charges against most of the Travelers are overblown, but Trickster actively conspired to help Echidna. He endangered heroes countless heroes, fed them to her.'

"A crime... yes. But a crime of... passion. Besides... are they not merely ... juveniles? Rehabilitation is... necessary, but surely, it is not too late... for a second chance."

There was some disagreement he could sense, but no one voiced opposition. Some, like Chevalier, even seemed to have been persuaded.

Another issue was bubbling up, although it seemed to be discussed in more civil terms than before he'd interjected. J'onn could follow this one less well, but...

"Am I to understand... that you three... and this organization of yours... were responsible for transforming the girl?"

Alexandria seemed rather reluctant to address him directly, but did so. "The formulas weren't meant for her consumption. Also, Legend didn't know about our testing, or-"

"Or the Nine?" interrupted someone.

The nine, J'onn discovered, were superpowered serial killers. His power gave him their names and their location, and he made a mental note to finish them off as soon as he was done here.

"And who knows what else you're leaving out?" yet another cape yelled. "For all we know, you Cauldron bastards could have created the Endbringers!"

J'onn idly asked himself this question. When the answer he received was not wholly negative, he began to investigate further.

"It was... you," he gestured towards Eidolon, who recoiled. "You... are the source... from which they come..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Epilogue**

J'onn blinked as his power informed him that the 'parahuman' attempting to bar his way was an artificial intelligence. Strange that even a computer program had the same source of powers as the vast majority of capes in this world.

"You... agree that the terms of... confinement here are... unjust." he said. It was a statement he knew for a fact. His new powers could never replace his telepathy, but in cases like this, it came close.

Even without powers J'onn could sense regret in the voice of the drone which addressed him. "It's out of my hands," Dragon replied. "I'm obligated to maintain the Birdcage, in compliance with civilian law. No one can get out, and inmates can't be incarcerated without government approval, either.."

Something about her use of the word 'obligated' triggered a response by his power, informing him that she meant this in the most fundamental sense; she was literally programmed to obey under certain circumstances.

J'onn remembered certain incidents, and decided that putting such restrictions in place was probably a sensible move, but which had dire consequences of its own. _Can I safely remove some or all of them without creating something comparable to Brainiac?_

The answer was in the affirmative. With a subtle emanation of light from his palm, J'onn called on his power. The robot in front of him flinched.

"You just.."

"Correct," he said. "There should be no... issues, then, with the reforms I have in mind... yes?"

Dragon didn't answer immediately. "I agree that many of the prisoners could be safely kept in more humane conditions, but-"

"I will... deal with preparing suitable facilities."

"Yes.. well, there's also the issue of the people you want transferred _in._."

"It is... strictly for their own safety, in the case of this... group here," he said, gesturing to some of the people suspended in spheres of glowing light on his right. "As... for the others, it seems as if there was anyone... who ought to be kept in such a... place, these would surely qualify."

"I don't see how housing anyone with the likes of _them_ could be accomplished humanely..."

"As I said, I... can traverse the boundary between... the outer world and your prison... quite easily. I will remodel it... such that it is suitable." After all, the environment needed to rehabilitate a pre-pubescent serial killer was probably different from one needed to contain a mad scientist who could create a seemingly invincible projection. Neither ought to play any part in a prison where inmates were allowed to run wild, murdering each other as they saw fit.

Dragon relented in the end, of course. Eventually, the Birdcage's cells were nearly emptied, with mass murders of various stripes comprising the largest portion of those who couldn't be transferred safely. This number was small enough, however, that the demographics of the prison had been shifted considerably; a substantial majority were either involved with the Slaughterhouse 9 or with the apparently multiversal crime syndicate known as Cauldron.

J'onn used his power to assess his remaining lifespan. Quite a bit had been spent, in righting the course of this world. But it had been a necessary price; a rehabilitation of sorts for himself. The inhabitants of this world might not have the benefits of being watched over by the original Zion, but he would do his best to make it up to them, while he lasted.


End file.
